As specifications for constructing a home network, to which a plurality of electronic apparatuses, such as home appliances, a portable terminal, and a personal computer, are connected, there is, for example, the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA, registered trade mark). In the DLNA, specifications (guidelines) are established in which, for example, both audio apparatuses and a personal computer are connected to the network and a content file, such as music, a moving picture, or a still image, is reproduced.
FIG. 9(a) illustrates an example of a processing operation in which an audio apparatus 51, which is connected through a network that satisfies the specifications for constructing the above-described home network, reproduces the music data which is stored in an audio delivery server 52. The audio apparatus 51 includes, for example, an AV amplifier and an AV receiver. The audio delivery server 52 is, for example, a network storage in which a plurality of music data is stored. Furthermore, for example, the music data, which are respectively associated with the plurality of audio delivery servers 52 on the network and are stored in the respective audio delivery servers 52, are displayed as a playlist on a remote controller, which belongs to the audio apparatus 51, or a fluorescent display tube (hereinafter, described as a “body FL”) which is arranged on the front side of the body of the apparatus. The user U selects a favorite piece of music from the playlist according to the display of the remote controller or the body FL. The audio apparatus 51 performs a process of requesting the music data from the audio delivery server 52 which stores the selected music. The audio delivery server 52 delivers the requested music data to the audio apparatus 51. The audio apparatus 51 outputs the music data, which is delivered from the audio delivery server 52, through a speaker.
In addition, FIG. 9(b) illustrates an example of a processing operation of using the smartphone SP as the remote controller and operating the audio apparatus 51. In the smartphone SP, for example, an application which satisfies the specifications of the DLNA is installed, and a playlist of the music data, which are stored in the audio delivery server 52 on the network, is displayed. In a case in which the user U selects a piece of music from the playlist, the application of the smartphone SP performs a process of notifying information or the like, which indicates the audio delivery server 52 in which the name of the selected piece of music or the music data corresponding to the selected piece of music is stored, to the audio apparatus 51. The audio apparatus 51 acquires the music data corresponding to the piece of music selected by the user U from the audio delivery server 52 based on information which is notified from the smartphone SP.
In addition, for the system which operates the above-described one audio apparatus, there is provided a synchronized playback system (for example, Patent Literature 1 or the like) in which music data, which is stored in an audio delivery server, is simultaneously delivered to a plurality of audio apparatuses and the respective audio apparatuses are synchronized and reproduce the music data. In the synchronized playback system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, control is performed in such a way that one of a plurality of terminal apparatuses (audio apparatuses or the like) serves as a reference terminal apparatus and the other apparatuses serve as subordinate terminal apparatuses, thereby performing synchronized playback between the respective terminal apparatuses without using a time delivery server for synchronized playback.
An example of a processing operation of the synchronized playback performed by the plurality of audio apparatuses which are connected to the same network as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 10. In a personal computer 55 illustrated in FIG. 10, software, which is capable of performing a process of managing or reproducing a piece of music, is installed. The user U selects, for example, a favorite piece of music from the library of the software. The software which is executed in the personal computer 55 performs, for example, streaming delivery of the music data of the selected piece of music toward the plurality of audio apparatuses 56, thereby implementing synchronized playback by the plurality of audio apparatuses 56.